Bijani presidential election, 1967
The Bijani presidential election of 1967 was the fourth sexennial presidential election to take place in Bijan, to elect the President of the Republic. The first round of voting took place on Monday, June 12, 1967, with the second and third rounds taking place the following day, Tuesday, June 13. Background Incumbent president Avro Sandurvo was ineligible to seek a third term, as the constitution prohibits a president from serving more than two consecutive terms in office. The political landscape in Bijan had changed considerably since Sandurvo was first elected in 1955. The Bijani National Party, while still the largest political party in the country, was experiencing a continued decline in influence and power, while the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Democratic Party enjoyed increased support, signs of the nascent left–right political system taking root in the country. The Country Party, created as a merger of several rural-interest and traditionalist parties, was also approaching major party status. While small, the Alliance of Dutch Voters and the Christian Democratic Party were extremely well-funded and well-organized for their size, making them potential kingmakers in the event of a political deadlock between the larger parties. Electoral system The President of Bijan is elected by a two-thirds majority vote in the House of Representatives. If the House cannot elect, by two-thirds majority, a candidate after three rounds, the Speaker must convene the Electoral Assembly, a special body consisting of all members of the House of Representatives and representatives from each of Bijan's local government councils. The Electoral Assembly shall elect the President in one or two rounds of voting. The 1967 presidential election was to be decided by the 5th House, which was elected at the 1965 general election, and was the first since political reforms increased the size of the House from 150 to 173 members. Thus, a presidential candidate needed the support of at least 116 members to be elected. The threshold to nominate also increased as a result, from 30 members to 35. Nominations and first round The election began on Monday, June 12, 1967, during the final week of the autumn 1967 session of the 5th House. The Bijani National Party in coalition with the Country Party nominated BNP executive vice president Menit Hanadani. The Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Dutch Voters co-nominated Narogo Kikkert, a Dutch–Bijani member of the House of Representatives. The Liberal Democratic Party sought to field a candidate but could not find the additional support in the House to reach the nomination threshold of 35 votes. Once the nominations period closed, the ballot was taken. No candidate received the required two-thirds majority, so the election was suspended until the following day. Reopened nominations and second round The election continued at 10:00am on Tuesday, June 13, 1967, with a second round of nominations. The BNP–Country coalition renominated Menit Hanadani, but the SDP–ANV alliance nominated Nerit Severijns instead of Narogo Kikkert, after Kikkert declined to be nominated again. Finally, the Liberal Democratic Party, in an agreement with the Christian Democratic Party and Bijani Future, nominated economist and university professor Ven Kikinaru. This was the first time a Bijani presidential election would have more than two candidates. No candidate received the required two-thirds majority in the second round, so a third round would take place later the same day between the top two candidates. Third round The election continued at 3:00pm on Tuesday, June 13, 1967. No further nominations were allowed in this round, and only the top two candidates from the second round were presented as nominees for the third round. The Social Democratic Party members, irate that their candidate lost to a Liberal challenger, considered abstaining from the third round and forcing the Electoral Assembly to elect the President, but given the large BNP presence at the local level, the election of Menit Hanadani was a foregone conclusion in either outcome, thus they opted to participate. With a total of 124 of 173 votes, Menit Hanadani was declared elected. His term commenced on July 1, 1967. Category:Bijan